Chevron Chain Tutorial

On today's Beading Daily blog, I talked about how I set out to stitch up some Chevron chain but actually wound up doing a version of right-angle weave known as triangle weave. I thought I'd offer a quick Chevron chain tutorial here for you today so you can try out this amazingly easy and versatile bead-weaving stitch!

To get started, you should try this stitch using two different colors beads, a main color (A) and an accent color (B). As always, when learning a new beadweaving stitch, using larger beads in lighter colors and a short length of thread will help you master the thread path.

Step 1:

On a comfortable length of thread, pick up 1 B, 4 A, 1 B, 4 A, 1 B, and 4 A. Pass back through the first B picked up so that the beads form a loop with both your tail and your working thread exiting the first B.

Step 2:

Pick up the beads for the next unit: 4 A, 1 B and 4 A. Pass your needle down through the third B of the first unit.

Step 3:

Pull snugly to form the second unit. At this point, play with your tension a bit, snugging your beads close together if needed to prevent any gaps of thread from showing between beads.

You'll continue to add units to the basic chain by picking up a set of beads as outlined in Step 2 and passing through the outermost B bead on the edge of your chain. You'll zigzag up and down with each unit, passing through either the bottom or top B bead as you add new units.

Once you understand the basics of Chevron chain stitch, you can jazz it up by trying it with Tila beads, Twin beads or bugle beads. Experiment with adding a row of netting between rows of Chevron chain, too, for a uniquely textured bracelet.

Want to learn more about Chevron chain stitch? Here are a few more resources to get you started: